What Once Was

By: Ceriadara


What once was no longer can be. I had thought that the war might glance over me, that it might not effect me. But with the death of this man, it effected us all. An anonymous student's thoughts at Dumbledore's funeral. Oneshot., drabble-ish.


"Albus Dumbledore was a man of honor, integrity, and everlasting power. He was..."

I let my mind wander from the speaker almost the second after he has begun to speak. I know from his name on the program that he is simply one that people hire to speak at funerals when they cannot gather the heart to do so themselves. This speech was written on the image that the public had of Dumbledore: the infallable, wise, incredibly serious and powerful mage that You-Know-Who himself was afraid of. That Dumbledore was all well and good, but he was not the person that those gathered here mourn for.

The Dumbledore that we - the students - know...well, knew, anyway, was someone who was human. He loved to laugh; I remember him laughing along with the Weasley twins during many of their pranks. My father, who came to Hogwarts at the same time as those that called themselves the Marauders, said that very often he joked with them as well. He was someone who was gentle and infintely kind. When, as a first year, one found oneself in trouble and sent directly to his office, you would sit down and the first thing he would do was offer you a lemon drop - I wonder how much he loved those things, and why he was so fascinated with them.

He was wise yes, but not only through books; he had seen the world and knew what it had to offer and how to prepare his students for what was to come. He shielded us from some harmful things, but others he let come to us. He showed us, little by little, as we grew older, how to adapt, to protect ourselves.

He was incredibly powerful, too. That I agree with the speaker on. He was truly the only person You-Know-Who feared; even the Slytherins had to admit a grudging respect for the elderly man because of that. He had defeated the greatest Dark wizard or his age, Grindelwald, and he had spoken and been friends with the reknowned alchemist Nicolas Flamel. Yet no matter how long he lived, and no matter what perils he faced, his eyes always somehow retained that twinkle - and even if it was briefly gone, during battle or on those rare occasions when he was totally serious, it always managed to reappear.

Yes, Albus Dumbledore was many incredible things.

No matter how many students passed under his watchful eyes during his long reign as Headmaster, I feel sure that he remembered and truly loved every single one. If we ever had the privelege of speaking to him, he would greet us by name and make it feel as though us and our problems were the sole thing in the world that mattered to him.

What once was no longer can be. I had thought that the war might glance over me, that it might not effect me. But with the death of this man, it effected us all. I can no longer stay out of the fight, can no longer remain idle in the war between light and dark. I feel compelled - as do countless others, I am sure - to lift up my wand and to charge out to show the Dark what Albus Dumbledore taught me. I - and many others - will fight this war, and we will win it just for him. We wil win if for he who once was.


A/N Sleep deprivation does strange things to a person O.o Review, please...even if only to tell me you hate it. XD